What is the current state of Marathon and the community?

RadBurn wrote:Probably not a big deal to anyone but I'm checking out of here. No real reason other than it doesn't net me anything other than burning time. I feel like my interest in Marathon is gone. Big thanks to Flowers and ravenshining for helping to get my project out the door.

RadBurn wrote:Probably not a big deal to anyone but I'm checking out of here. No real reason other than it doesn't net me anything other than burning time. I feel like my interest in Marathon is gone. Big thanks to Flowers and ravenshining for helping to get my project out the door.

To answer the original post, here's my thoughts on the state of Marathon.

I've been a fan of Marathon probably since the early 2000s when I first played it, and I joined the Pfhorums nearly 12 years ago. I've never considered myself an integral part of the community, as I've never made any maps or scenarios or anything like that, and the times I've ever discussed anything here, it was usually posts regarding fanart and fan projects. Marathon has a tight little community, but is one that has been shrinking or losing interest. Now, fans will always be making maps and scenarios when they still can, and that's great, but you can only do so much with a game engine (or updated version of a game engine) that's nearly 25 years old. Bungie has all but ignored Marathon for the past couple of decades (with the one exception being the XBLA Durandal remaster) and for a company that used to be so involved with the Marathon community, it feels like abandonment... it's easy to understand the cynicism that permeates the fanbase, and I'm yet another who has come to terms with the fact that Marathon is unpopular, and that they're not the best games ever made, and that the idea of rebooting the series comes with a lot of reservations.

Fans will always remain, and I still love Marathon of course... I'll continue to tell others about it when the subject comes up, I'll continue to pay tribute to it with art and all that, but I feel its inevitable death will happen sooner rather than later, and I'm fine with that. It had a good run while it lasted.